I want to get in shape for the Appalachian trail...?

Question

some friends and i plan to hike the Appalachian trail and i would like to know what i should do to get in shape for it.

so if anyone has done this already, or other long distance hikes please help me out.

thanks

Answer 1

The best site to visit for info on thru hiking the AT are these guys

http://www.whiteblaze.net/index.php?page...

I'm in the middle of planning  and training for next years thru -hike and quite honestly it's a lot of work

I was going to it this year But I could not get this fat old body of mine into what i considered to be decent long distance  hiking shape

Currently I am doing 100-150 miles a week  bike riding and spending about 5 hours a week swimming

As the weather gets cooler I'll start taking long walks initially w/o a pack and then finally w/ trail pack weights and trail distances and then do a month or so in Grand Canyon  and probably finish the training by hiking Utah's  National Parks in winter

If you're not already a hiker half the battle is figuring out how to carry a loaded pack on a day in day out basis across varied terrains

Somebody once said that the best way to get in shape for hiking is  by hiking >and that's true

For this kind of stuff unless yoour completley out of shape gym work outs are of marginal value

You need to walk daily in all sorts of weather and across all sorts of terrain

So much of long distance hiking is psychological and not physical and the only way to prepare your  brain for three days of hiking in pouring rain is to hike in pouring rain  as often as is possible for practice

Do yourself a favor and do not try to lose weight before you start your hike ,

Fat and fit is a very real possibility and a worthwhile goal

AT tru hikers are notorious for losing so much weight on 6000 calorie a day diets that they look malnourished by the end of their hikes >and in some cases they  actually  are

I'm targeting starting my hike at 240-250 lbs and ending it at 200-210 lbs

If you're planning on doing a thru hike in the Spring of 2009 you're getting a really late start on it and you will  shortly be up to your eyeballs in gear catalogs and logistical problems

Regardless have fun doing it

Update :

There are some great shots of the summit of Mt Katahdin [end of the AT ]in this vid:

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0AcOAm9Q...